Tom Selleck on the future of "Blue Bloods"

It's difficult to hit nan view connected nan highest elevation astatine Tom Selleck's California ranch. You could say, astatine 79, nan character is very acquainted pinch nan position from nan top.

For nan past 14 years Selleck has starred successful nan deed CBS show "Blue Bloods," arsenic nan caput of nan NYPD, and nan caput of a beardown (and often headstrong) family. The show is group to extremity this year, but there's been immoderate pushback connected that, astir notably from Selleck himself.

Tom Selleck arsenic New York Police Commissioner Frank Reagan successful "Blue Bloods."  CBS

Asked if "Blue Bloods" is ending, Selleck replied, "Well, that's a bully question. I will proceed to deliberation that CBS will travel to their senses. We're nan third-highest scripted show successful each of broadcast. We're winning nan night. All nan formed wants to travel back. And I tin show you this: we aren't sliding disconnected down a cliff. We're doing bully shows, and still holding our place. So, I don't know. You show me!"

It's not nan first clip Selleck has been astatine likelihood pinch nan powers-that-be, successful a profession that's been agelong and legendary. In his astir celebrated domiciled successful nan '80s, nan characteristic Thomas Magnum wore a Detroit Tigers shot headdress – a motion to nan municipality successful which Selleck himself was born.

Long earlier Magnum, and nan mustache, he was an jock astatine nan University of Southern California, and aft a less-than-stellar world career, he recovered activity successful ads, trading products for illustration Ban Basic and Safeguard Soap.

Smith asked, "You told yourself early on, going to auditions and interviews, you would virtually opportunity to yourself successful nan car, 'You're bully enough, Tom.'"

"I'd say, 'You're enough,' but – convey you – possibly that 'good' would person helped! But I didn't deliberation of that."

"But, 'You are enough, Tom,' you'd opportunity that to yourself?"

"I did, I did." 

But small of what he did successful his early profession was ever enough: not nan soap opera gig connected "The Young and nan Restless," nor nan six TV pilots he made.

And then, he was signed to do "Magnum, P.I." And astir nan aforesaid time, Selleck was offered different domiciled from Steven Spielberg. "Steven said, 'Here's nan script, spell publication it. Tell maine if you for illustration it, 'cause we want you for Indiana Jones," Selleck recalled. "So, I sewage to astir page 8 successful Steven's agency and I conscionable went, Oh, ****, this is really good!"

But, successful a communicative that's go legend, he was forced to move down "Raiders of nan Lost Ark" for "Magnum." 

Dey Street Books

In "You Never Know," a long-awaited memoir retired this week, Selleck shares nan specifications of what he calls "the world bid of disappointments," and really he quickly made bid pinch it. "You tin make yourself a victim, aliases conscionable grin and say, 'That's really ironic,'" he said. "I had a bully occupation coming up, a occupation I would've dreamed of, 'Raiders' aliases not."

"Magnum, P.I.," astir a erstwhile Navy SEAL and Vietnam vet-turned-private investigator, debuted successful 1980 connected CBS. The workplace wanted to suffer nan Vietnam elements (back past nan wounds of nan warfare were still fresh), but Selleck and his shaper fought difficult to support it in, and nan show was a hit. 

Among its biggest fans was Frank Sinatra, who erstwhile told "Magnum" co-star Larry Manetti that he'd for illustration to beryllium connected nan show.

"Larry comes to maine and says, 'Frank wants to do nan show,'" said Selleck. "'But he wants to beryllium asked, truthful you person to telephone him.' And he wanted to do it correct away. So I said [to Sinatra], 'Well, we're gonna person to constitute it for you. What do you wanna do?' He said, 'Oh, I don't care. Just make judge I get to hit personification up.'"

That was his condition? "Yeah. Well, that's Frank!"

The "Magnum, P.I." impermanent changeable (in which he did get to hit personification up, beautiful decisively) was Sinatra's past acting job.

But it was only nan opening of Selleck's reign arsenic an '80s activity symbol. That smile! That swagger! That mustache!

Tom Selleck won an Emmy for his 1980s bid "Magnum, P.I."  CBS via Getty Images

In private, however, Selleck was smitten by British character Jillie Mack, whom he first spotted erstwhile she was successful nan London accumulation of "Cats." He said, "I sewage checked retired by immoderate of nan cast, ne'er Jillie. One of nan formed members told her astatine half-time, he says, 'You cognize who keeps staring astatine you? Tom Selleck.' And – I don't cognize really to cleanable this up – she conscionable said, 'Who nan f**k is that?' She didn't cognize who I was from Adam, which to maine was nan top point successful nan world!"

They married, successful secret, successful 1987, conscionable earlier "Magnum" entered its last season. They've been together ever since.

By that time, Selleck says he was burned out, but he knew he had created thing that was much than conscionable a TV show: "When 'Magnum' ended, we sewage a telephone from nan Smithsonian: 'We wanna grant "Magnum," we request immoderate artifacts.' And they took my chapeau and nan ringing I wore – nan squad ringing successful Vietnam – and my Hawaiian shirt, nan reddish one. And we went backmost location and they publication nan citation. They gave america in installments for being nan first show that showed Vietnam veterans successful a affirmative light. So, nan conflict was worthy it."

These days he spends astir of his non-working clip connected his ranch, and it's not difficult to spot why. "You know, hopefully I support moving capable to clasp onto nan place."

Tom Selleck, pinch analogous Tracy Smith. CBS News

Smith asked, "Seriously, that's an issue? If you stopped working?"

"That's ever an issue," he said. "If I stopped working, yeah. Am I group for life? Yeah, but possibly not connected a 63-acre ranch!"

Happily he likes his job, and aft 60 years successful beforehand of nan camera, Tom Selleck knows … he's enough.

Asked what he sees down nan road, he replied, "Hopefully, work. As an actor, you ne'er suffer – I don't lose, anyhow – that consciousness that each clip I decorativeness a job, it's my past job."

Does he still person that sense? "I for illustration nan truth that there's nary excuses!" he laughed. "You conscionable spell to activity and you do nan work. And I person a batch of reverence for what I telephone 'the work,' and I emotion it. And I'd for illustration to support doing it."

READ AN EXCERPT: "You Never Know"

       
For much info:

• "Blue Bloods" on CBS and Paramount+
• "You Never Know: A Memoir" by Tom Selleck pinch Ellis Henican (Dey Street Books), successful Hardcover, Large Print, eBook and Audio formats, disposable May 7 via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org

      
Story produced by John D'Amelio. Editor: Steven Tyler. 

In:
• Tom Selleck
• Blue Bloods
• Magnum P.I.